Breaking Fate
by it's simply rae
Summary: Leo wasn't supposed to be able to go back to Ogygia. Calypso wasn't supposed to be able to leave Ogygia. Neither of them were supposed to be able to stroll into Camp Half-Blood two and a half years after Gaea's death. Well, don't we just have a few little fate breakers on our hands.?
1. -1-

Hey, it's me again.! So, this'll be my first official chapter-story on FanFiction.! This was originally going to be a one-shot, but I wasn't able to get where I wanted to within the 2,000 word limit that I had given myself, so I decided to just make it multichaptered.! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **None of the characters in this fanfiction belong to me, and neither do any of the locations. The only things that belong to me are the actions that I make the characters do. Anything else you see here belongs to the fabulous Rick Riordan.

-rae

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><p>-LEO-<p>

Leo could feel Calypso's arms wrapped around his torso, hugging her body to his own as the two of them (three, if you counted Festus- which Leo certainly did) zipped across the sky, cutting through the wind and soaring above even the clouds. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo could see Calypso's cinnamon colored hair whipping around crazily, its loose braid long forgotten. The moon and the stars and the dark sky didn't do anything to stifle the heat of the summer night, and with one hand Leo reached up and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, and then rubbing his hand on the white tee shirt that Calypso had made for him. Calypso's arms, which had looped under his suspenders as they had snaked around his body, suddenly tightened around his waist as Festus made a sharp turn. The metal dragon's wings tipped, the flying piece of living machinery dipped downwards, dragging down through the clouds and dampening its two riders' clothing and skin with mist.

A knot suddenly grew in Leo's stomach as he looked down upon the towering silver buildings and mazes of roads packed with cars. Even from all the way up in the sky, he could still see the many people moving about and all the lights of all of the signs and windows that existed down below. Leo stared down at New York City, suddenly very wary of descending to the ground.

Calypso, on the other hand, seemed very excited to get on the ground. As soon as Festus began to dip lower, she let out a small squeal and hugged Leo even tighter. Anyone else might've mistaken this for her being frightened, but Leo knew this goddess of a girl like the back of his hand, despite not having known her for long. If anything, Calypso was psyched beyond words. And with well reason, too. Leo had only rescued her from her island prison, Ogygia, about three days ago. And he had only been planning to save her for about a month and a half- although, because of the time difference between Earth and Ogygia, it had felt like years and years to Calypso.

Leo felt as though part of that guilt was on himself. If only he had been able to rescue her sooner, than she wouldn't've had to endure all that time alone on the island, waiting for him to come back.

When Festus touched down in what Leo immediately knew to be Central Park, the son of Hephaestus felt like curling up into a ball and hiding, which was a new emotion for him. Calypso seemed to notice this, because as she untangled her arms from his suspender straps, she glanced at him in concern. "Are you alright, repair boy?"

He forced a grin. "Yeah. I'm just worried about what the others are going to do when they realize that I'm alive. If Piper still has the sass that she did when I last saw her, then I'm probably going to wish that the explosion that killed Gaea actually _did _kill me." _Well, actually, it did. It killed me, Calypso, I was dead. Can you believe that? I'm like a zombie, really. Bet you never thought you'd fall for a zombie, did you, Calypso?" _Leo blinked and continued, "We don't even know how long it's been, what with the whole time difference and all."

Calypso nodded in agreement, her eyes locked with Leo's. "It could be years since you last saw your friends."

Leo couldn't help but laugh, in spite the situation. "Can you imagine if we walked into Camp Half-Blood and it was full of old people? Oh man, what if Frank has a beard! Can you picture that?"

And even though Calypso had never met Frank and could not picture it, her lips still parted in a grin and she laughed whole-heartedly.

The girl slid off of Festus's back and landed delicately on her sandaled feet in the grass, her now-free hair falling in soft waves over her shoulders and all down her back. Her skin-tight jean capris settled low on her hips and ended just about mid-calf, and her loose white tee shirt hung off of one shoulder. Her milky skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, and her almond colored eyes seemed to shine brighter than any star in the sky ever could. Leo couldn't help but stare at her, engrossed with her beauty. He still could not understand how this gorgeous Greek legend - a _Titan _for Zeus's sake – had fallen for _him _- a short and scrawny son of Hephaestus.

Calypso paid no attention to her so-called-lover as she looked about her with a huge smile upon her face. It made Leo smile, too. Calypso's happiness was just so contagious. Said happy girl spread her arms and looked around in wonder. "It's so amazing to be off of my island. I can't believe that I'm in a _real _park in a _real _city."

Leo smirked. "Don't worry. I'll make sure you know how taxis and sidewalks and all of this other _new _stuff works."

The girl simply smiled back at him, to ecstatic for teasing.

Sighing and snapping his suspenders against his chest, Leo turned and faced Festus. The metal dragon was laying slumped on the ground, totally out of fuel. "Sorry, buddy, I guess this is where we leave you." Leo reached up and rubbed his invention's head. "We'll pick up some more fuel when we get back to Camp Half-Blood and have you up and running in no time.

Festus made a series of whirs and clicks that sounded like little glass marbles bouncing against a set of spinning gears. _Is the girl staying at the Camp?_

Leo smiled. "Yeah, Festus, she's staying with us now." He turned to Calypso. "It seems as though Festus wants an introduction. I never really did properly introduce you two, did I?"

Calypso laughed. "No, you didn't. I take it you made this dragon, yes?"

"Yep." Leo grinned proudly and patted Festus's side. "This is Festus. A super-hot McShizzle bad-dragon to go with a super-hot McShizzle bad-boy."

Rolling her eyes, Calypso walked over to stand next to Leo. "Hello, Festus. I'm Calypso."

Festus made some more clanking and buzzing noises. _The girl is very pretty. Is she with you?_

Leo laughed. "Yeah, Festus. She's with me."

More clucks and clacks. _Will she be riding me often?_

At this Leo collapsed into Calypso's side, his face red with laughter as he clutched his stomach. Calypso caught him as he stumbled, holding him up by the shoulders as he shook in howls of laughter. Her eyebrows furrowed together and a small smile lingered on her lips. "What? What's so funny, Leo?"

Leo just shook his head and kept laughing. "If only…everyone could speak…mechanical dragon…the world…would…be a much…funnier…place…" he gasped out between laughs.

Calypso was apparently a bit disgruntled at not being let in on the joke, and she let go of Leo and stepped back, allowing the Latino boy to fall to the ground. She crossed her arms and waited for Leo to calm down and stand up before talking. "Can we go see the city now?"

Leo nodded, his cheeks still warm and red. He scratched Festus under the chin. "Alright, boy, that's enough questions. We'll see you later, Festus." Festus ticked out a goodbye and Leo turned back to Calypso. "Alright, milady, where to first?"

The almond-eyed girl's slight smile returned. "Wherever you like, you lowly mechanic."

Said mechanic grabbed at his chest as if he had been shot. He gasped in fake pain. "I'm hurt, milady! I rescue you from your eternal imprisonment on a lonely island and you respond with harsh words?"

Calypso laughed, a twinkle in her eye. "I apologize, son of Hephaestus. What I meant to say was, 'Let's go see this Camp of yours!'"

Leo smirked. "That's more like it." He grabbed Calypso's hand and the two of them began to follow the wide gravel trail towards the edge of the park. "So," he said, "what did you think of your bird's eye view on the way into the Big Apple?"

"Big Apple?" The immortal girl looked momentarily confused. "What's that?"

"It's a nickname for New York City. Don't ask why. I'm not sure if anybody really knows the reason. Annabeth probably does. Remind me to ask her when we get to the Camp."

"Will do." Calypso nodded. Then she smiled. "But I loved it! There are so many tall silver buildings around here- and so many lights! It must be so much work to keep that many lamps lit all day and all night."

Leo laughed out loud. "We don't use lamps in the modern world, Calypso. Well, at least not the kind with an open flame. We use these things called lightbulbs, and you can screw them into the ceiling or into a lampshade and then you turn them on using this thing called a light switch and then they _glow._"

Calypso's eyes grew wide with what Leo could only describe as amazement. "Really? Leo, you _have _to take me to see one!"

"I'm sure we'll see a street lamp or two on our way to Camp Half-Blood." Leo assured her. "And of course, in Camp Half-Blood, we like to stick to the Ancient Ways and we do use fire-lit lamps, but in Chiron's Big House and in some other important buildings we use light bulbs."

The girl holding Leo's hand gripped it tighter and closed her eyes briefly. "Camp Half-Blood must be wonderful."

"Believe me, it is." A dark shadow suddenly crossed Leo's face. "I only hope that it's still the same way I remember it."

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><p>Comment and tell me what you think maybe.?<p> 


	2. -2-

A/N: So, thank you so much for my 2 reviews.! So glad that people like what I'm writing. And I love that I'm able to see statistics of where my readers are at in the world.! I honestly think it's so cool that someone from Italy viewed this story, and four people from New Zealand viewed this story, and aw wow I think it's so neat that my stories and my words are getting to people all over the world within minutes. The Internet is such a nifty thing, huh.? :) And I apologize in advance that the time skips in this (somewhat short) chapter are kind of choppy, but I made up for it (hopefully) by giving you something from Calypso's point of view.! Hope you enjoyyyy :)

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything, all rights go to Rick Riordan, the only thing that belongs to me is the plotline of this story in particular, yada yada yada, you get the gist.

-rae

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><p>-CALYPSO-<p>

"Oh, wow!" The words came out of Calypso's mouth as barely more than a whisper as she gazed, wide-eyed, up at the tall metal pole with the so-called light bulb on top. She let go of Leo's hand and walked over so she stood right beneath the circle of light that it cast on the stone ground. Hearing Leo chuckle behind her, she turned around. "This place is so…so…_extravagant_!" She grinned breathlessly. "There's so many things to see!"

Leo's smile lit up the night even more than the street lamp. "That's Manhattan for you. There's so many things in it that it's like a whole different universe."

"For me," Calypso reminded him, "it _is _a whole new universe. I've been stuck on that blasted island since the First Titan War."

"I know." Leo's smile faltered for a second and he reached for Calypso's hand again. "I'm just glad that you're finally where you belong, with the Leo Bad Boy Supreme." Before Calypso could register what was happening, he pulled her swiftly towards him and attached his lips to hers. Calypso's eyes widened, and then closed, and she melted into his arms.

His lips tasted like a mixture of fresh cinnamon and the smoke wafting from a recently lit log fire, and Calypso had never tasted anything better. She kissed him back and the two of them stood beneath the light of Calypso's street lamp. Nothing mattered but him, and to her, they were the only two people awake in the city that never sleeps.

When they finally broke apart Calypso stayed pressed up to him, their foreheads resting together. Leo smirked. "Way better than that toga-wearing Odysseus could've ever been, right?"

Calypso laughed. "Definitely."

Their hands swung in between them as they walked through the streets of Manhattan, towards where the Manhattan Bridge connected their current location to Long Island, where Camp Half-Blood was located. Calypso looked over at Leo, studying his expression. The 15 year old boy was looking around at his surroundings as if trying to decide if he was in the same place that he remembered. Calypso nudged his shoulder. "Is it different? Has it changed since the last time you were here?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't know. I never paid much attention to the specifics of this city, but it just feels like something is different."

"Is there a way for us to know what year it is?" Calypso wondered out loud.

"Well, yeah," Leo looked around, "if we could find a newspaper stand then we could check the date on the paper. But I don't see any newspaper stands around." He thought for a moment. "That could mean that it has been a long while since I was last here, and they've just stopped using newspaper stands anymore."

Calypso bit her lip. "Don't get so worried." She told him. "I'm sure everything will be alright."

Leo forced a smile. "Yeah, you're probably right. Come on, let's keep going."

"How far do we have to walk?" Calypso asked him. _Not that I mind it, because this is more space I've had to walk around in for years and years and years and-_

"It's kinda far." Leo sounded apologetic. "I would've landed us closer, perhaps even in Camp Half-Blood if I could've, but Festus was running out of fuel. He wasn't gonna be able to take us much farther, and then he would've crashed and we'd have to walk anyways."

"It's alright." Calypso brushed her long hair over her shoulder. "I really don't have a problem with walking."

"You know," the son of Hephaestus paused to readjust one of his suspender straps, "Annabeth once told me about this Greek taxi that will take you anywhere you need to go. It's driven by these three old ladies. The Blue Sisters, or something like that. But I forget how to summon them. The sure would be useful right now, though."

"I guess." Calypso agreed. "But really, as long as you're fine with walking, then so am I."

Leo smiled at her. "You're amazing, you know that? I'm so lucky I've got you."

Calypso smiled back. "I know."

-LEO-

It was just after dawn when Leo pointed up the long grassy hill. He could see the pine tree sitting on top of it, and that knot in his stomach grew about five times larger. "There it is, Calypso. Half-Blood Hill."

Calypso gazed upwards towards the top of the hill. "Is there some mythical demigod story behind that pine tree?" she asked teasingly.

Leo couldn't help but smile. "Actually, there is. I can't remember what it is, though. Something to do with Jason's sister Thalia, I think." He began to bounce on the balls of his feet. "I can't wait to see them, but at the same time I don't want to know what they'll say. If it's been years and years, they might've forgotten me by now. They might've-"

"Hey. Hey." Calypso's hand on his shoulder made Leo stop his jittering. "Quit stressing yourself out. I'm sure your friend would never, ever forget you. I bet they've been looking for you this whole time."

"I doubt that." Leo sighed. "They all think I'm dead."

"What makes you say that?" Calypso's perfect face scrunched up slightly in confusion.

Leo scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Well, I didn't exactly tell them I was going back to get you. I knew they'd think I was nuts. Which I am. But I basically let that explosion with Gaea kill me, and Festus gave me the antidote and then I came back to life and then I landed on your island again. If they weren't able to find my body, which obviously they weren't, then they must assume I'm dead. Nico's death senses probably confirmed that I died, too."

Calypso's almond eyes widened. "Leo…that's…that's…why didn't you tell them this was your plan?"

"Because I knew they'd say that it was too risky and they would've stopped me." Leo turned to look at the beautiful girl. He squeezed her hand tighter. "And I had to get back to you, Calypso. _I had to_."

Calypso stared at him for a few more seconds, seemingly lost for words. Then she turned back to Half-Blood Hill. "Come on. Let's go, firebug."

Leo and Calypso made their way up the hill uneventfully, with Leo's stomach twisting up more and more with every step he took. By the time they reached Thalia's pine tree, Leo probably could've thrown up everything he'd eaten since he left the Wilderness School. He reached out and shakily pressed the palm of his hand against the trunk of the tree, feeling the wood cool against his skin. He took a deep breath and slowly turned his head to look down the hill at the Camp.

It hadn't changed much at all, which made Leo let out a sigh of relief. At the foot of the hill sat the Big House, and maybe a quarter mile of grass separated it from the Omega-shaped expanse of the 20 Cabins surrounding the garden-like courtyard. Beyond the cabins was the mess hall and the Medical Wing, and a trail leading away from that drew a line towards the strawberry fields. Beyond the Medical Wing was the logically-placed training area, just a short distance from both the forests and the beach that was lapped against by the Atlantic Ocean. The water was currently glowing a dim purple-orange color, as a result of the rising sun that was still hanging low over the surface. The early morning rays stretched towards the cabins, shining down faintly on all of the buildings filled with still sleeping campers. When Leo saw the light reflecting off of the metal smokestacks that stretched from the Hephaestus Cabin's roof, his heart lifted and so did his mood.

"Can you believe it, Calypso?" He breathed. "I'm actually home."

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><p>Favorite, Follow, Comment.? ;3 *especially comment, I'd love to hear what you think*<p> 


	3. -3-

A/N: Hey, it's me again.! I meant to update before Christmas, I really did, but things got in the way and then I went on vacation to NYC and I only finished this chapter just now.! (By the way, happy new year.!) I'm not particularly proud of this chapter; the reunion is a little sloppy and I apologize in advance for Calypso's total nonexistence in the second half of the chapter and I definitely _do not _like the ending, but it's something so I figured I might as well put it out there, as like an end-of-year present or something.

**DISCLAIMER: **I'm not Rick Riordan, by the way. I don't take credit for any of the characters or for any of the locations mentioned in this story.

(By the way, are disclaimers really necessary.? This _is _ , after all. Isn't the point of it for us to be able to write these stories without having to assure people that we don't take credit for it.?)

-rae

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><p>-LEO-<p>

Leo gripped Calypso's hand even tighter than he had been before. He knew that her fingers were probably getting crushed and that she might be in pain, but he couldn't make himself loosen his grip. Now that he had her all for himself, he wasn't about to let her slip away again. He took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled slowly. "Come on." He said to Calypso. "Let's go see what's been happening since I was gone."

And so the two of them made their way down the other side of the hill. When they reached the gravel path that lined the bottom, Leo paused. Calypso glanced at him. "Where to?"

Leo shrugged. "I dunno. I kinda wanna go to the Hephaestus Cabin…"

Calypso sensed that something was holding him back from doing that. "But?"

"But Harley sleeps in his underwear. I don't want that to be the first thing I see."

Calypso couldn't hold in her laughter, and when Leo saw her laughing, he couldn't help but laugh too. He grinned. This girl's happiness really _was _contagious. Leo shook his head and looked towards the cabins.

"I'm torn between making a big dramatic entrance and just walking straight in like nothing happened."

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Calypso blinked at Leo. "Maybe we could wait a few minutes, if you like?"

Leo shrugged again. "I guess. I wasn't really planning on having a plan. I was thinking we could just wing it when we got here."

"You never really have a plan, do you?"

Turning to look at Calypso, Leo smirked. "Of course I make plans. After all, I planned to save you, didn't I?"

And then he kissed her.

Calypso's lips tasted like honey and seawater and sunshine and flowers and everything lovely that Leo had ever known, and he could've stood there for hours drinking in her taste. But he knew he needed to go find his friends, so he broke away and sighed.

"Come on. Let's go in this time for real." Laughing, Leo tugged on Calypso's hand and they walked down the gravel path towards the cabins. "I guess we can just go the Hephaestus cabin and hope for the best. Hope to the gods that Harley's got his pants on, Calypso."

Calypso laughed and walked with Leo, looking around at all of the cabins. "There are so many of them! Does every god and goddess get their own cabin?"

Leo looked around too. "There were originally twelve, apparently. Just the ones for the Olympians. But after Percy defeated Kronos in the Second Titan War, the gods agreed to make more cabins for more of the minor gods so all of those gods' children weren't clogging up the Hermes cabin. Now we've got cabins for the Olympians as well as for Hades, Iris, Hypnos, Nemesis, Nike, Hebe, Tyche, and Hecate."

Calypso pointed at the cabin whose walls were made of metal and covered in many bits and bobs of machinery and spare parts and inventions that were never finished and instead slapped onto the sides of the building because that was the most convenient place for them. A series of gears made an arch on the wall over the heavy sheer metal door. The top of the cabin was slanted and ridged and three tall smokestacks rose from the left side of the roof. "Let me guess," she said with a smile, "That's your cabin, huh?"

Leo nodded, a lopsided grin on his face. "You know it. Nyssa's probably the counselor after my disappearance, but I'm back and better than ever and I'm _so _ready to resume my position as the Fire King Elite."

"I bet nobody calls you the Fire King Elite. Nobody has ever called you that in your whole life."

"What are you talking about? Of course people call me that."

"I seriously doubt that anyone has ever willingly called you the _Fire King Elite_."

"Okay, so maybe I had to hold Shane down and threaten him with my fire powers before he called me that, but still!"

Both of them were laughing, and neither of them remembered the fact that they were in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by cabins that were full of sleeping demigods. Suddenly the sound of a door slowly creaking open roused them both from their laughter. Leo looked up to see that the door of the Hephaestus cabin had been opened, by a short, scrawny, dark haired boy in his boxers. He looked to be about 10 or 11, and it took Leo a moment to recognize who he was. _Well, he's certainly different. _The kid rubbed sleep out of his eyes and took a moment to focus on Leo. When he did, his eyes shot wide open and his jaw dropped.

"Leo?!"

"Harley?"

Harley stared at Leo for a few moments. Leo grinned nervously. "Hey, kid. I'm guessing it's been a while?"

Suddenly Harley ran forward to stand about a foot in front of Leo. "Leo, is it really you? You look exactly the same! You're still fifteen! You're the same age that you were two and a half years ago!"

"_Two and a half years?!" _Now it was Leo's turn to be surprised. He let go of Calypso's hand in shock. "You're telling me that I've been missing for two and a half _years_?"

Harley nodded. "Well…I mean…we all thought you were dead. After that explosion, and we couldn't find your body, and we all knew that if you were alive then you wouldn't've stayed away, and after a while they stopped searching and we had a memorial built in your honor." The kid pointed over Leo's shoulder, and Leo turned quickly. His eyes widened.

Sitting perched on a golden metal pedestal in the middle of the courtyard sat and equally golden metal hammer, the symbol of Hephaestus. A shining plaque was hammered against the front of the pedestal, and Leo scrambled over to read it. He knelt on his knees in front of it, looking at it with wide eyes.

_In loving memory of_

_Leo Valdez,_

_The Son of Hephaestus who killed Gaea_

_and sacrificed himself in the process._

_We miss you, Leo._

Leo stared at the words for a few more minutes, though they were soon blurred by the tears that swam in his eyes. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and knew it was Calypso. Rubbing his eyes dry, he turned to look at her. "They thought I was dead." His voice was quiet and shaky, and he forced himself to steady it. "For two and a half years, Calypso. For two and a half years they've been thinking I'm dead."

Calypso smiled lightly. "Hey. Don't beat yourself up about it. There's nothing you could've done to change the time difference between Ogygia and the rest of the world. There's nothing anybody could've done. It's not your fault."

Leo opened his mouth and then closed it again without saying anything. He pushed himself to his feet and turned towards Harley. Stepping towards his half-brother, he embraced the kid tightly. "I'm so glad to be home."

Harley hugged him back, his head buried in Leo's chest. "I'm glad you're home too. I've missed you so much, Leo." When the two of them let go, Harley said to Leo, "So where have you been? Why didn't you come back after the explosion?"

The tears in the kid's eyes made Leo get a little choked up himself. "I came back as soon as I could, Harley. I promise. It's kind of a long story. I'll explain once we get everyone together." Suddenly that nervous knot in Leo's stomach grew. He bit his lip. "Everyone else is okay, right?"

Harley nodded quickly. "Yeah! Nyssa's 18 now. She's head counselor, and we've gotten some new siblings since you've been gone. Justin, Mariana, and Wilma. Justin and Mariana are twins, they were 10 when they got here but they're 11 now. Wilma is 14, she's only been here for about six months."

"That's good." Leo put in. "But what about my friends that _aren't _our brothers and sisters? What about the rest of the seven? And Nico? And heck, even _Reyna_? Are the Greek and Roman camps mingling now?"

"Yeah." Harley nodded again. "They're all fine. Percy and Annabeth have been taking college classes in New Rome since Gaea's defeat, and Jason's been going back and forth between the two camps regularly. Piper stays here most of the time, but sometimes she goes with Jason, and Hazel and Frank spend most of their time at Camp Jupiter. They come here sometimes to see Nico, though. Nico goes to Camp Jupiter sometimes, but most of the time he's…well…most of the time he's too wrapped up with Will to care about what's going on around him."

Leo's jaw dropped. Had he heard that right? Nico? Wrapped up with _anyone_ besides _himself_? "Will? _Will Solace?_ Are he and Nico _a thing_? Is Nico _gay_?"

Harley nodded for yet a third time, smirking. "Apparently. He and Will have been practically inseparable since he had to spend like a month under Will's care after he almost shadow-traveled himself to death."

Leo couldn't believe it. So much had changed! Percy and Annabeth were in college, Nico had a boyfriend, and everyone was _two and a half years older_ than they had been the last time Leo had seen them. Leo couldn't help the next question that jumped to his brain.

_If their ages and relationship statuses have changed, then what else could have changed about them? What if they don't want me anymore?_


	4. -4-

A/N: Hey, two updates within a few hours.! Pretty snazzy, huh? ;P I am actually very proud of this chapter, so I hope that you like it! :)

**DISCLAIMER: **Everything belongs to Rick Riordan, except for Justin and Mariana Kingsley and Wilma Huck.

-rae

* * *

><p>-LEO-<p>

Leo stood staring at Harley for a few moments longer, none of them saying anything. Then Harley cleared his throat and switched his attention over to Calypso. During Leo and Harley's talk, she hadn't said anything, instead she had stood behind Leo and listened as she braided her hair over her shoulder again. But now she tossed the braid behind her as Harley spoke.

"Who's this?" He asked Leo. "Is she someone you picked up along the way? Is she a demigod?"

Leo blushed, and so did Calypso. While Leo looked over at her, fumbling for words, she rolled her eyes and took Leo's hand. Smiling, she said to Harley, "I'm Calypso. I'm Leo's girlfriend."

Now it was Harley's turn to drop his jaw, and for two different reasons. One of them was the one that Leo was expecting. "Calypso? You mean, you're _the _Calypso? Calypso from Ogygia?" and then- "How did Leo get _you_?"

Leo blushed harder and smacked Harley lightly on the head. "Hey! Don't doubt me! I've got some serious lady skills!"

"What lady skills?" Calypso laughed. "Last time you tried to use your _lady skills_, Khione blasted you sky-high and sent you to me."

"Well, what about when I got to Ogygia?" Leo insisted. "I used my lady skills then to woo you over."

Calypso blushed and laughed at the same time. "Okay, first of all, never say those words to me again. And for another thing, you didn't _need _them with me. I fell for your dorkish flirty personality and for your somewhat adorable curls."

"Somewhat? My curls are more than somewhat-" Calypso cut him off by pressing her lips to his.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Harley pushed his way in between them, pushing Leo away from his girlfriend. "No lip-locking in front of me! I don't need to see that! I'm 10 years old!"

Leo laughed and ruffled Harley's hair. "Sorry, little dude. Now c'mon. You need to put some pants on. And a shirt."

Harley blushed and led Leo over to the door of the Hephaestus cabin. "Alright." He said awkwardly. "Are you ready? Do you want me to wake them all up first?"

"Sure." Leo grinned. "And then I can come in and surprise them with my super amazing awesomeness."

"Obviously." Harley rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll go wake them all up."

Leo looked over at Calypso as Harley disappeared into the cabin. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Hey." She tapped his chin. "You look nervous. Don't be. These are your siblings, for Zeus's sake. They're not going to be mad. They'll understand when you tell them that it's not your fault that you've been missing. You came back as soon as you could."

Shrugging, Leo nodded. "Yeah. I know. I'm not really nervous about what they'll say, I'm more just upset that I've missed out on the past two and a half years of everyone's lives. Harley was eight the last time I saw him. _Eight! _And now he's ten, and there's so many things that he's done since he was eight that I wasn't there for. I'm his _big brother! _I'm supposed to be there with him for everything!"

Calypso smiled. "I know. But it's _not your fault that you weren't there, Leo. _AndHarley had all of his other siblings there with him. It's not like you left him alone."

"I know." Leo looked at her regretfully. "I know."

"Come on, guys! Get up!" Leo could hear Harley's excited voice drifting through the slightly open metal door. "I've got a big surprise for you!"

"God damn it, Harley, it's still dark outside!" That was Christopher, Leo realized, although he sounded much more like a 15 year old now, rather than the 13 year old that Leo knew. "Can't this wait until morning?"

"Nope." Harley popped the 'p' in the word and Leo heard a few frustrated groans.

"Gods, Harley, you're so _annoying!_" That was a girl's voice, one that Leo hadn't heard before, and he guessed that it belonged to one of his recently-discovered sisters that he had yet to meet. Although he strained his memory, he couldn't remember what the two girls' names were. He instead refocused himself on what the girl was saying now. "Can't a girl get any sleep around here? Ever since I got here, you've been bugging me every half hour with all of your stupid jokes and I'm sick of it. Go to Tartarus, Harley."

Leo couldn't believe his ears. This girl had only been at Camp Half-Blood for a little while, and she was acting like she was better than Harley? She thought she was allowed to throw insults around to her own brother, telling him to _go to Tartarus? _Leo was fuming. The ends of his curls began to smoke and even though his skin was burning up and he must have been burning Calypso, she didn't let go of his hand. Instead, she held on tighter. "Shh," she whispered in his ear, "let the others handle her. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Excuse you?" Leo relaxed instantly when he heard Nyssa – older, 18 year old Nyssa, but still Nyssa nonetheless – scolding the girl. "Wilma, that is not how we talk to our siblings. Harley's done nothing wrong and he hasn't harmed you in any way."

"Whatever." The girl, Wilma, grumbled under her breath. "Why don't you go join him in Tartarus, then?"

Leo could practically see Nyssa with her hands balled into angry fists as she struggled to remain calm, and he was slightly disappointed when all she said was, "Go on, Harley. What was it you wanted to show us?"

Although Harley must have been somewhat put out by Wilma's bullying, he still sounded no less excited when he said, "It's waiting outside. You can come on in!" He shouted that last part, and Leo took that as his cue. Smiling at Calypso, he pushed open the door and walked in.

Immediately everyone in the room's jaw's dropped. Except for a young teenage girl with long dark brown curls, who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she plopped down on a bed in the back of the room. Leo ignored her and waved at everyone, a huge grin on his face.

"Surprise!"

The room was dead silent. Leo tried again.

"_I said, surprise!"_

Still, no one moved.

Leo rolled his eyes. Letting go of Calypso's hand, he put both hands on his hips sassily. "Come on, guys, say something! I'm not a ghost. Why not show your brother some love?" He looked across the room to where Nyssa was standing. She was much taller than Leo remembered, but other than that she looked basically the same. Her dark brown bangs were hanging in her face and her eyes were wide. Harley stood next to her, leaning against a bedpost with a proud look on his face. He still had yet to put on any pants, although he had thrown on an old, oil-stained t-shirt. Leo locked gazes with Nyssa and smirked. And that, he supposed, was what triggered Nyssa. Her eyes hard, she shut her mouth and stomped towards Leo, her hands balling into fists at her sides. Leo's eyes widened and he took a step back, expecting her to hit him. But when Nyssa stood directly in front of him, her nose barely inches from his, she didn't look angry. No, her eyes filled up with tears and the corner of her lip turned upwards just the slightest bit, and then she did the most very un-Nyssa-like thing that Nyssa could ever do- she hugged him.

Leo just stood there in shock for a few moments, and then he hugged her back, burying his head into her chest as Harley had done to him earlier. They held each other so tightly that Leo thought his insides might burst, and when she finally let go he had to pause for a moment to catch his breath. Nyssa stood there and looked at him with her gaze filled with as much love and relief that she could muster.

"You came back." She whispered. "You came back to your family, Leo."

"Of course." He whispered back with a smile. "How could I stay away?"

Nyssa held his gaze for a moment longer, and then she started to laugh. And then Harley started to laugh, and then Christopher, and then Shane, and then pretty soon everybody in the cabin was laughing, except for that girl in the back who just rolled her eyes and pretended that she wasn't interested. Leo left Calypso to go walk through the gaggle of his brothers and sisters, hugging them all and grinning and saying the words "I'm back, I'm back" over and over until they were permanently etched in the minds of all of his siblings. When he came upon a pair of kids about Harley's age that he hadn't met before, he gave – and yes, Leo remembered their names now – Justin and Mariana each a hug and simply introduced himself by saying "I'm your brother" before migrating back to where Nyssa was waiting for him in the middle of the room.

Nyssa shook her head at him, laughing. "I can't believe it, Leo. You're back. You're actually back. And you don't look a day older than when you disappeared two and a half years ago."

"Actually," Leo admitted, "In my world, I haven't even been gone that long. In my mind, I've only been gone for about 5 days. I didn't realize that the time difference would be so huge."

"What?" Nyssa's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What time difference? Where did you go?"

Leo nodded over his shoulder to where Calypso was standing. "To Ogygia. I went to save Calypso."

Nyssa turned and looked at Calypso, along with the rest of Leo's siblings. "You're Calypso?" Nyssa said disbelievingly. "_The _Calypso?" When Calypso nodded, Nyssa continued, "How do you and Leo even know each other? And how did you manage to get her off of Ogygia?"

Leo smiled. He walked over and grabbed Calypso's hand. "Well, the story of how we met is pretty simple, really. I was just being me, and Khione was just being Khione, and next thing you know I get blasted off to Ogygia, and of course Calypso just can't help but to fall in love with me, and I just can't help but to fall in love with her, I guess."

From behind Nyssa, Jake whistled. "Alright, Leo! Who would've ever thought that Leo would get a girlfriend?"

Leo stuck his tongue out at his older brother. "Don't be like that, Jake. You've never even kissed a girl."

"No, I haven't." Jake agreed. "And it's probably because I'm gay."

This aroused many laughs among the group, partly because it was so obviously true, and partly because that was the greatest coming-out scene any of them had ever witnessed. Leo just laughed and squeezed Calypso's hand. "So, yeah." He blushed. "That's, uh, that's how Calypso and I met."

"Can we hear the rest of the story now?" Harley questioned. "You said you'd tell us when you had all of us together at once, and here we all are now. You gonna tell us or not, hothead?"

Leo was about to retort playfully at Harley, and tell him that he wasn't a hothead, but the twins, Justin and Mariana, interrupted him by coming over to stand next to Nyssa.

"Is it true?" Justin asked the counselor. "Is this the real Leo, the one that we heard all the stories about?"

Nyssa looked up at Leo. "Yeah. It is."

Leo grinned. "You guys tell the new campers stories about me? How sweet! I feel so loved!"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Don't get too flattered, Leo. We also tell stories about how your flying side table drawer, Buford, totally kicked your butt because you washed it with the wrong cleaner."

"Hey, that was ages ago!" Leo defended himself. "I was young then!"

"You're still the same age." Harley pointed out.

The groups' laughs were cut off by the annoyed-looking girl from the back of the room getting up and shoving her way to the front. "You all are being so _overdramatic!_" She rolled her eyes. Leo knew instantly that this was Wilma, the new camper that had been bad-mouthing Harley, and by looking at his other siblings' faces he could tell that this was nothing new. They all looked very bored and slightly annoyed at Wilma's words, as if she was always being a jerk. Wilma crossed her arms. "Why are you all getting so worked up over this smoke-headed dumbass?"

"Um, excuse me?" Leo let go of Calypso's hand again and tapped Wilma on the shoulder. She spun around to face him, looking disgusted that she had touched him. "Wilma, is it? Well, yes, I'm the smoke-headed dumbass that you were just talking about, and if I seem to remember correctly, I just so happened to be the one who _killed Gaea?" _

Wilma's chocolate eyes narrowed down into a glare. "From what I could gather from the stories I've been told, you are a coward, and a wimp, and you contributed nothing to your little group of _heroes _but a few little flames and a repair job every once in a while."

"Are you kidding me?" Leo scoffed. "Have you seen what I can do? What I've _done? _I found Bunker Nine and I rebuilt Festus. I made a _dragon that can talk to me and can fly and shoot fire. _And when he was destroyed, I rebuilt him as a part of the Argo II. I made a _flying warship with a flaming dragon's head attached to the front of it. _We flew that ship from here all the way to _Camp Jupiter. _And I built a helicopter out of spare parts _as I was falling from the sky _to avoid being flattened into a pancake when I went to Calypso's island for the first time. And I rebuilt Festus the dragon's _whole body in secret inside of the Argo II. _And when the time came, I was able to successfully _fly that dragon out of the wreckage of that ship and destroy Gaea. And when the explosion that killed Gaea killed me as well, I was prepared for that. I had the cure for death installed inside of Festus, and when I died, Festus gave me the cure and brought me back to life_. I saved my own life, and a whole bunch of other people's, countless times by using_ a few little flames and a repair job every once in a while. _I don't know what _you've _done in your _truly heroic _lifetime, but I'd be willing to bet my life and everything I own that it doesn't even _compare _with what I've done. So if I were you, which I'm so freakin glad that I'm not, I would consider _keeping my mouth shut from now on if I don't know what I'm talking about, _which, I might remind you, _you don't._"

Everyone in the cabin was speechless for several moments after Leo finished talking. Even Wilma, who had been giving Leo the death glare all throughout his speech, was looking a little nervous. She regained her composure, though, while Leo casually blew out the fire that had erupted on his hand in his anger. When Leo was successfully not-on-fire again, she narrowed her eyes again and spoke.

"At least I didn't die and then come back to life and _not go back to my friends. _At least I didn't let them think I was dead for two and a half years, before coming back and acting like nothing was wrong. No one even wants you here, Leo." Wilma walked towards him on her way to the door. When she passed by next to him, she paused. "At least I have the decency to know when to leave when I'm not wanted."

And then she stomped out of the cabin.


	5. -5-

A/N: So, I'm back with another chapter, and I think this one's pretty decent. Again, I apologize for Calypso's virtual nonexistence, but I really am trying. It's just kinda hard. And I am thoroughly enjoying writing Jake Mason. xD He's so fun to write because I get to make up a whole personality for him and everything. So, here you go, have some Harley/Leo brotherly love, and, the moment you've all been waiting for...the Piper/Leo reunion.! :D

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing but Justin and Mariana Kinsgley, Wilma Huck, Jessica Foley, and Tayler Larsington.

-rae

* * *

><p>-LEO-<p>

Leo stared after her as she left the room. When the metal door clanged shut, he turned back around to his siblings. "Is she always like that?"

"Yeah." Shane nodded.

"Pretty much." Christopher shrugged.

"None of us like her." Harley put in.

No one said anything to that, so Leo figured it must have been true. "Well, what's her deal?" he asked. "Why's she so grumpy?"

"Who knows?" Jake frowned. "Ever since she got here she's been trashing on all of us. Especially Harley."

"Harley?" Leo looked over at his younger brother- the boy was now looking quite uncomfortable, rubbing his arms as if he were cold and avoiding everyone's gaze, instead looking at the floor and then the ceiling. "Is that true, Harley? Is she bullying you?"

Harley shrugged a little. "I wouldn't call it _bullying_, exactly, she's just kinda mean and says some kinda mean things sometimes."

Leo walked over until he stood right in front of Harley. He put his hands on the boy's shoulders and looked into his eyes sternly. "I'm serious, Harley, which is a big deal because I'm never serious. I heard her tell you to _go to Tartarus. _That's a pretty freaking big deal. I'm back now, okay? I'm not gonna let some snobby sister of ours push you around. Promise me that you'll tell me next time she does anything, alright?"

Harley's brown eyes were wide as he looked up at Leo. "Yeah." He said finally, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smile. "I promise." He wrapped his arms around Leo, and Leo squeezed back tightly. When they broke away, Leo turned back to the rest of the group and asked, "How many of the rest of the seven are in Camp Half-Blood right now?"

"Piper's the only one." Nyssa spoke up. "Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, and Jason are all in New Rome. Although Piper's been saying that Jason's been planning to come over soon for a while now, so he could possibly be here any day."

Leo nodded. "Alright," he said, grinning, "then I'm going to go wake up my favorite beauty queen. Who's coming with me?"

Jake's hand immediately shot into the air. Leo, Calypso, and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin looked at him. "What?" he defended himself. "The chance to see hot Aphrodite kids so early in the morning? I'm totally in!"

"Dude, didn't you, like, just admit to us that you're gay?" Shane asked.

"I said hot Aphrodite kids. Not hot Aphrodite _girls_."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Come on, then. I'm sure Mitchell has some nice morning breath. Anybody else coming?"

"I'll come." Harley offered. "I'd give anything to see Piper's face when she sees that you're back."

Nyssa nodded in agreement, smiling. "Yeah, I'm in too. Let's go."

"Okay, let's be off!" Leo grinned and took Calypso's hand, leading her and Jake, Nyssa, and Harley out of the cabin. "Time to go see Piper, and hope that she doesn't totally smash my head in for thinking that I was dead."

"I'm excited to meet Piper." Calypso smiled, swinging her and Leo's interlocked hands between them. "What's she like?"

"She's stubborn, and annoying, and one of the most dramatic people I've ever met." Leo said, and then laughed and shook his head. "But she makes up for it by being the best friend I could ever ask for. Even though we're always teasing each other, we're like siblings, really. She's always there for me when I need her. I bet you'll get along pretty well, Calypso."

"She sound's wonderful." Calypso agreed.

"Wow, Leo." Jake said in amazement. "I didn't know you felt that way about your friends."

"Of course I do, even if I don't say it or act like it often." Leo said. "They're my friends, and they're the first people that actually cared about me since my mom died, and that's more than I could ever ask for."

"I wish I had a whole bunch of friends, like you, Leo." Harley admitted.

"Hey, you've got us, Harley!" Nyssa assured him. "We're your friends and your family, and we'll be the ones that you'll always be able to fall back on."

Leo looked down at his feet as he walked. "It's hard to imagine Piper being two and a half years older than me. A few days ago, we were the same age. Now I'm 15 and Piper's 17. She's 17, man! Can you believe that?"

"Yes, I can." Nyssa smiled. "I was at the birthday party Jason threw for her."

"A birthday party?!" Leo smacked his forehead with his free hand. "You see all these things that you miss out on when you're dead! I love parties!"

"Ah, relax, firebug." Calypso leaned into Leo's shoulder. "My birthday's soon. You can throw me a birthday party."

For a moment, Leo got excited, and then he remembered that Calypso was immortal. "Oh, ha-ha, very funny. You don't have a birthday."

At that moment they reached Cabin 10, and Calypso looked up at it in wonder. "Woah." was all that she could say.

Leo looked up at the ginormous Barbie house, taking in the gray walls and the pink door. The white stone columns that stretched down from the painted roof to the blue and white checkered porch were etched with hearts in all different shapes and sizes, and Leo pressed his hand against one of them to feel the warm stone beneath his hand.

"Get ready." He joked. "This whole place reeks of about 12 different types of perfume."

And then he stepped forward and pushed open the door. There were a few Aphrodite kids sitting awake on one of the beds, talking quietly amongst themselves as they ran brushes through their tangled hair and flicked through mortal magazines with pictures of many hot actors and actresses. Leo recognized two of them as Lacy and Mitchell, and the other two were a girl and a boy that Leo thought were named Jessica and Tayler, but he wasn't sure. As soon as Leo walked in, all four of them looked up to see who had come in. When they saw Nyssa, Harley, and Jake, they smiled, but when Leo stepped out from behind them with Calypso in tow, their eyes widened in shock.

Mitchell opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Leo waved to Jake, who sprinted silently across the room and covered Mitchell's mouth with his hand. "Shhh," he hissed quietly, "don't say anything."

Mitchell nodded slowly, and Jake released him. Leo walked over to them, trying not to wake any of the sleeping campers up. "Hi." He grinned. "Yes. It's me. I'm back. I'm alive. Now, can one of you tell me where Piper's bed is?"

Lacy lifted a hand and pointed across the room to a bed that had light blue curtains drawn around it. "Of course." Leo laughed quietly. "There's a big wooden chest with her name on it right in front of that bed. I should've known."

He tiptoed over to it and gently pulled back the curtains just far enough to stick his head in. He did so quietly, and smiled at what he saw. Piper wasn't the same that she had been when he last saw her- in fact, she seemed much older and her features seemed more defined and bold, as if she had matured greatly both physically and mentally in the past two and a half years. But her skin was still the same dark tan, and her hair was still the same choppy brown mess with random braids hanging down from random points on her head. She was much older than Leo now, and it made Leo feel weird to see his best friend at 17 years old when he hadn't been there for the rest of her time as a 15 year old, or at all as a 16 year old. Leo sighed and couldn't help but smile, despite the feeling of guilt in his chest. At least he was back now, and he was about to give his best friend the surprise of a lifetime.

He gently reached out and laid a hand on Piper's shoulder. "Hey, Beauty Queen." He spoke softly, unable to keep the grin off of his face. "Wake up. I haven't seen your eyes in like, I don't know, two and a half years or so." Piper made a small whimpering noise and squinted her eyes shut even tighter, turning her head away from him. She clearly wasn't fully awake yet, or awake at all, really. Leo continued, "Please, Beauty Queen? I sure have missed you, and I'm absolutely certain that you have missed me." He waited a few seconds for Piper to rouse, and when she didn't, he rolled his eyes and leaned down, placing his lips right next to her ear. "Piper. It's me, Leo."

Piper's eyes snapped open, and Leo jumped back. He grinned at her.

"How's it going, Beauty Queen?"

Piper stared at him with eyes that were shifting between blue and green and were currently the size of two full moons. Her lips parted softly, although she couldn't seem to make any sound come out of them. Leo grinned even wider.

"I'm back! Are you glad to see me?"

Piper's eyes narrowed, and the last thing he remembered was her fist shooting forward to meet his face before everything went black.


	6. -6-

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I'm playing Jasmine in our school production of Aladdin, so I've been at rehearsals. Hope you enjoy this chapter.!

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing but the characters you see here that are not in the book series.

-rae

* * *

><p>-PIPER-<p>

Piper slammed her fist into Leo's face, and then drew it back as Leo collapsed on top of her. She stared at his unmoving body in shock, a million thoughts racing through her mind at once. She couldn't believe what just happened. She was just woken up by her best friend, her _dead _best friend, _two years _after he died. She scrambled into a sitting position quickly. A moment later the pale blue curtain around her bed was whipped back to reveal Nyssa standing there, with Harley and Jake behind her. Lacy, Mitchell, Jessica, and Tayler were sitting on Jessica's bed on the other side of the room, and a girl with long cinnamon colored hair who looked to be about 15 years old hovered awkwardly off to the side, staring in horror at Leo's unconscious form.

"I see you took it well." Nyssa said with a smile.

Piper stared at her, and then at Leo. "What…how…is this real?!"

"Very." Nyssa nodded towards Leo, who was slumped on Piper's bed. "You handled that differently than I did. I just hugged him. I was too much in shock to do anything else."

"I…I…I…I'm pretty sure that I'm in shock too." Piper couldn't do anything other than stare at Leo, face down on her blankets. "How is this possible? How is he here? How is he _alive_? How is he the _same age that he was when he died_?"

"I would let him explain for himself, but seeing as he's kind of unavailable at the moment, I'll do the honors." Nyssa sat down on Piper's bed and opened her mouth to talk, but Harley spoke first.

"Hey! I should be the one to tell the story! After all, I was the one who found him and Calypso outside this morning!"

"Calypso?" Piper moved her gaze to the girl standing off to the side. "Are you really Calypso? _The _Calypso?"

The girl, Calypso, finally tore her gaze from Leo and looked up at Piper, nodding. "That's about the fifth time someone has said that to me today." She said with a nervous smile. Then she looked back down at Leo. "What did…what did you do?"

Piper looked at Leo as well. "I, just, punched him, I guess."

"Why?"

"Because when I saw him, my first thought was, 'That jerk! He's been alive this whole time and he's only just now come back?'"

"It's not his fault." Calypso defended him. "He came back as soon as he could."

"Not soon enough." Jake grumbled in the background.

"Come on." Nyssa sighed. "I suppose we should get him laid down somewhere so he doesn't wake up and fall on the floor."

"He would deserve it." Piper rolled her eyes, but nodded and got out of bed anyway. "Here, we can set him on my bed." She helped Nyssa lift the 15 year old up and lay him gently on the bed, laying his arms at his sides and propping his head up under Piper's pillow.

"There." Nyssa stepped back and studied the unconscious boy. "Almost looks like he's sleeping, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess." Piper eyed her best friend for a few moments. He looked exactly the same as she remembered, except he was wearing different clothes. In contrast to the ratty old t-shirt and ripped jeans that he had been wearing the last time she saw him, he was wearing a newer, only slightly-stained white t-shirt and cleaner, dark blue jeans. A pair of thin black suspenders were stretched over his shoulders and crossed in an 'X' over his back, the ends of them clipped to his tool belt. His curls were exactly the same length that they were before, and there was still a smudge of black oil smeared across his left cheek, even though the slight reddening of his tan skin in that area proved that he had spent a long time rubbing at it, trying to get it to go away. Despite her anger at him for staying away for so long, she couldn't help but smile at the sight of her best friend healthy and alive, even though there was probably going to be a bruise above his right eye, where she had punched him.

Piper suddenly remembered that the legendary Calypso was standing just a few feet away. She spun around and looked at the immortal girl. "How do you and Leo know each other?" She asked, although she already suspected the answer.

Calypso looked up at to meet Piper's gaze. "He landed on my island, of course. He said that Khione sent him there when she attacked you guys' ship."

Piper's eyes widened. "Oh my gods. No wonder he was acting so weird when he got back. He was in love!"

"I guess so." Calypso smiled shyly. "He came back to save me after he defeated Gaea. The explosion killed him, yes, but his dragon, Festus, it had the cure inside of it. When Leo died, Festus gave him the cure and he landed on Ogygia. My curse was broken, because Leo managed to come back to Ogygia twice, and he took me with him and we flew back here on Festus. For Leo, it's only been a few days since he defeated Gaea. The time difference between Ogygia and here is absolutely huge, though. That's why it's been so long in the real world."

Harley's shoulders slumped. "Well there goes my chance to tell the story." Nyssa rubbed his arm.

Piper's eyes widened even more, and she had to sit down before she passed out in shock. "I…I…I don't know what to say! When he disappeared, we sent out a search party, of course, and when Nico told us that he was dead we still searched for a _body_, but after a few months with no leads we were forced to give up the search, but he was on Ogygia _the whole time_! Oh my gods I can't _wait _for Jason to get here, he'll be so surprised!"

Calypso smiled. "I hope so. Leo's been very excited to get back to you guys, and he was absolutely devastated when he found out that he had been gone for so long. I'm glad you guys aren't too mad at him," she glanced at Leo's steadily bruising eyebrow, "although you _did _knock him out."

"Yeah. Sorry." Piper blushed. "So, you and Leo, huh?"

"Yeah, me and Leo." Calypso laughed. "You can't exactly rescue a girl from her eternal prison and _not _fall in love with her, huh?"

"Aw, that's so cute!" Lacy ran over from across the room, where she, Mitchell, Jessica, and Tayler had been quietly listening. "You and Leo are, like, such a cute couple!"

"Thanks." Calypso smiled sweetly, and her nose crinkled up a little bit.

"I can see why Leo likes you." Mitchell told her. "You're very pretty."

Piper could see Jake's shoulders slump a little bit as Calypso blushed, and she couldn't help but to laugh behind her hand. When the others looked at her, she covered it up quickly by pretending she was coughing.

"What's going on here?" Drew's voice sounded from across the room, and Piper spun around to see the Japanese girl standing there running a green comb through her long black hair with a disapproving look on her face. "Why are Nyssa and her siblings here? And who's this girl?" She jutted her chin towards Calypso.

Calypso stepped forward before Piper could say anything. "Hi!" she greeted Drew cheerily. "I'm Calypso. I'm Leo Valdez's girlfriend!"

Drew stared down her nose at Calypso. "Leo Valdez is dead," She said stiffly. "And he has been for two and a half years."

"Not exactly." Calypso pointed to where Leo was still lying unconscious on Piper's bed. "See for yourself!"

Crossing the room quickly, Drew paused next to the bed and stared down at the Latino boy. Her dark brown eyes widened in shock. Lacy and Mitchell rushed forward and each took one of Drew's arms. "Come on," Mitchell said somewhat nervously, "and we'll tell you the story. We just heard it straight from the mouth of Calypso, and think what great gossip it'll make!" That had Drew convinced, and she followed Lacy and Mitchell back to Jessica's bed.

Piper rolled her eyes and looked back at Leo. She sat down on the edge of the bed and took Leo's hand in her own, wrapping both of her smooth hands around his rough one. "I'm sorry I hit you, Leo." She whispered softly. "Just please wake up." She sat there, rubbing the back of his hands with her thumbs, for a little while before he finally woke up.

Leo groaned and moved his head, squinting his eyes shut in pain. With his free hand he reached up and rubbed the dark purple bruise above his right eye. Piper let go of his other hand and that one immediately shot up to his head as well. Leo growled deep in his throat and his eyes opened groggily. He blinked a few times until his eyesight focused and Piper watched him, biting her lip.

When she saw that Leo's gaze was fixed on her she hugged him as tightly as she could, tears brimming in her eyes. Leo tensed up like he was shocked, but then he hugged her back, his arms wrapping around her with as much strength that he could muster. When they broke apart, Piper wiped her eyes dry before speaking.

"Oh, gods, Leo, I'm so sorry, Calypso explained everything to me, if I had known that it wasn't your fault then I wouldn't've hit you, I just saw you and my first thought was that you'd been alive and hiding from us for this whole time, and then I just got really angry and I just had to take my anger out on you, I'm sorry Leo, I really am-"

"Hey, calm down Beauty Queen!" Leo exclaimed as he rubbed his injured head. "I'm all right now, aren't I?"

"Besides that bruise the size of Asia on your face?" Piper grumbled. "Yes."

Jake suddenly appeared by Piper's side with a bag filled with ice in his hands. "Here." As he spoke, he wrapped up the ice bag with a pink and orange scarf that he had pulled from one of Piper's siblings' beds. Piper recognized it as Kaylee's. "Hold this on that nasty bruise."

Leo accepted the bundle from Jake and pressed it gently above his right eye. When he winced, Piper couldn't help but wince as well. "Stop that." Leo snapped his fingers in front of Piper's face. "It's not your fault."

"Obviously not." Piper rolled her eyes. "All I did was punch you in the face and give you the bruise, why would it be my fault?"

Calypso walked over to stand by Leo's bedside. "Hey, Leo." She smiled. "Glad to see you up and awake again."

Piper noticed that Calypso seemed much more lively and outgoing when Leo was awake and by her side. From what Annabeth had told her about Percy's trip to Ogygia, Piper hadn't marked Calypso down as a shy type of girl. But now that she had met her personally, Piper could plainly see that Calypso was much more comfortable when she was with Leo. _It's probably because she has finally found the guy that will love her back. And when she's away from him, she's afraid that he's not going to come back. _

Leo smiled back at Calypso. Piper could see the love in his eyes. "Hey, Calypso. It's good to be back." He put his free hand on the bed and tried to push himself up, but as soon as he was standing he wobbled uncertainly and had to sit down again before he passed out. His free hand shot up to his head as well, and he held it tightly as if it would burst if he let go. "Ouch."

"Headache?" Piper guessed. She couldn't help but feel guilty, but she pushed the feeling away.

"More like the whole world is just pulsing rapidly and spinning around me." Leo groaned. "My entire head is throbbing."

"Maybe we should find Will." Harley piped up. "He's an Apollo kid. He'll know what to do."

Nyssa nodded in agreement. "A medic would know better than anybody."

"Okay." Leo shrugged. A mischievous glint shone in his eye. "Does that mean I can tease him and Nico?"

"No teasing." Piper scolded, and then immediately hated herself for it. "Oh, man, I'm like an adult now. I'm your elder."

"'Elder'?" Leo laughed. "Aw, 17 year old Piper is no fun. She's all proper and stuff."

"I am not proper!" Piper stuck her tongue out at Leo. Then she laughed and shook her head. "Come on, then. Let's go find Will and Nico. Are you alright to stand and walk, or do you need us to carry you?"

"I can probably stand if I have someone on either side of me to lean on." Leo thought out loud. "Calypso, Piper, would you mind?"

"Not at all." Piper smiled.

"Of course not." Calypso agreed.

Piper and Calypso moved to either side of Leo to help him stand up. He put his hands on their shoulders, holding the ice pack between his teeth as he stumbled to his feet. When he was standing upright, he moved his hands back to hold the scarf-wrapped ice to his forehead, and Piper and Calypso pushed their shoulders under his for support. In this way they were able to make it across the cabin towards the door.

"We're going to head on back to the Hephaestus cabin." Nyssa said, motioning to herself, Harley, and Jake. We've got to talk to the rest of our siblings."

"Okay." Leo agreed. "See you guys later."

Harley grinned. "Definitely.


	7. -7-

A/N: So sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy the Leo/Nico reunion.! Btw, I've been thinking about doing a HP Next Generation fic. Thoughts.?

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing but the characters you see here that aren't in the book series.

-rae

* * *

><p>-LEO-<p>

With a very killer headache racking his brain and a very girly pink and orange scarf pressed against his forehead, Leo hobbled across the courtyard with Piper on his left and Calypso on his right. Dawn was breaking over the rooftops of all of the cabins now, and Leo knew that soon enough the rest of the campers would be awake and moving around. And Leo really didn't want to get all caught up in that as soon as he got back, and definitely not with the massive headache that he had now.

"Can we hurry up?" He hissed through teeth gritted against the pain. "I don't want to be out here when everybody and their mother starts crowding the courtyard."

Piper nodded and she and Calypso picked up their paces, hurriedly pulling Leo as fast as they could out of the courtyard and towards the Medical Wing. Leo supposed that Will probably spent most of his time there, and, as a result, Nico would be there as well.

When the trio reached the Medical Wing Piper lifted her hand and pushed open the door. Leo hobbled in and Calypso and Piper lowered him down to sit on one of the beds pushed up against the far wall. Leo looked around the room. "I see that absolutely nothing has changed."

Looking around, Piper laughed. "Yeah, I guess not." She smiled at Leo and Calypso, who had sat down next to her boyfriend. (_Boyfriend. _Leo just couldn't stop thinking it.) "I'm going to go look for Will. He and Nico are probably in the back room or something."

"Ooo." Leo waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "What goes on in the _back room_?"

Piper rolled her eyes and shoved Leo's shoulder gently. "Be quiet. The back room is just where Will keeps his ambrosia and nectar, things like that." Leaving Leo and Calypso waiting on the bed, Piper pushed through the swinging door and walked into the back room.

-PIPER-

As she suspected, Piper found Will with his head buried deep in a cabinet and Nico sitting on Will's desk a few feet away. Will was wearing a flowery Hawaiian pattered button down and tan cargo shorts, and his blond curls were tousled naturally. Nico, on the other hand, was wearing a black hoodie and a pair of very tight black skinny jeans with holes ripped through the knees. His black hair was falling down to the back of his neck. Neither of the boys looked up when Piper entered.

Will was muttering to himself, and Piper could only catch little snippets of words here and there. "Nectar….I know I….but where….flask…."

Nico was looking so deep in thought that Piper thought she might have to dig him out. His dark eyes seemed to be staring at something very far off in the distance, and his hands were clutched tightly into fists in his lap.

Piper cleared her throat. Nico snapped out of his dream-like trance and his wide eyes turned on the Cherokee girl. Will jumped and smacked the back of his head off of the top of the cabinet. The 16 year old turned around and glared at Piper.

"Geez, Pipes, what is it? You nearly gave me a concussion!"

"Sorry." Piper grinned. She noticed Nico studying her intently and turned her warm brown gaze on him. "What?"

"I…I've been sensing some pretty weird things since I woke up this morning." Nico admitted.

"Like, with your Hades Death Stuff, you mean?" Piper knew where this was headed, and she struggled to remain looking like she was clueless.

Nico nodded. "It's really weird. It's only ever happened once before, a long time ago…"

"What are you going on about, Neeks?" Will asked the smaller boy, reaching over to ruffle his already messed up hair.

Nico didn't flinch, like he would've if anybody else had dared to touch him like that. "I don't want to get your hopes up, Piper, but my death senses are telling me that Leo is alive."

Piper couldn't help it anymore. She grinned. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Ah, come on, Nico, do you really have to spoil the surprise?"

Piper spun around to see Leo leaning against the doorway. There was a large, ugly purple and blue spot just above his right eye, right on his eyebrow, but he had abandoned the ice. His arms were crossed over his chest and a teasing smile lingered on his face. Piper looked over at Nico and Will. Nico's eyes had widened, showing the whites that stood out against his olive skin. Will's jaw had dropped. Piper grinned even wider. "Surprise!"

Nico didn't move for a good few moments, and then a slight smile appeared on his face. "Good to see you alive and well, Leo." He paused. "I think I know how you did it."

"Hi! I'm Calypso!" Calypso appeared next to Nico, who only smirked.

"And that proves my theory."

"Wait." Will's blue eyes were wider than the full moon. "Leo, man, are you actually…_alive?_"

"In the flesh." Leo grinned, and then winced in pain. Will's son-of-Apollo instincts automatically took over.

"What's wrong? What happened to your face?"

Leo laughed and grimaced at the same time. "That would be Piper's doing. She didn't take it so well when she opened her eyes this morning and there I was, leaning over her bed."

Nico shot a sneering laugh at Piper, who felt her cheeks redden lightly. "Not my fault." She defended. "It was instinct. And I've already apologized about eight thousand times."

"Ah, relax, Beauty Queen." Leo winked. "I'm just joking around. I know you didn't mean it." He suddenly groaned and clutched at his head. Will hurried over to him.

"Are you okay? How bad does it hurt?" Will ushered Leo over to his desk, shoving Nico's feet off of the chair so he could settle Leo down in it. He gently pulled Leo's messy curls away from his face so he could get a better look at the ugly bruised lump. "Why didn't you apply ice to this immediately?"

"We did." Calypso spoke up. "But it kind of melted in his hands."

Will sighed and shook his head. "Fire users." He grumbled good-naturedly. "Always burning stuff."

"Hey!" Leo looked up. "I'm the only fire user you know!"

"And your point is?"

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the blanket resting on Will's chair spontaneously combusting. Nico hastily picked up a bottle of water and poured it over the blanket, putting out the flames. Leo rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Will turned to snap his fingers at Nico. "Can you go grab some ice and put it in a plastic bag, and then wrap that in a strip of burlap? Perhaps that might stop Mister Hotpants over here from melting it all." He jerked his thumb at Leo, and Nico nodded and hopped off of the desk, walking over to the sink. He came back a minute later with a ball of fraying burlap in his hands. Under Will's instruction, he gently held the icepack against Leo's bruise while Will dug through his cabinets again.

"What are you looking for?" Piper asked.

"I just got a whole new flask of nectar," Will said, "and I have absolutely no idea where I put it."

Calypso and Piper jumped in to help, and the three of them searched while Nico held the ice against Leo's head. It was a few minutes before Calypso found a metallic orange canister and held it up. "Is this it?"

Will's eyes lit up. "Yes! Thanks Calypso!" Calypso nodded and passed the flask to the medic, who hurriedly opened it and held it to Leo's lips. "Drink."

Leo took the flask out of his hands. "I can do it myself, thank you very much." And he tipped his head back the slightest bit, gulping down mouthful after mouthful of the golden nectar. Will kept his fingers on the bottom of the canister and kept nudging it towards him to make sure he drank it all, and when the flask was empty Leo wiped his mouth on the back of his hands. "Thanks."

"Feel better?" Will inquired.

"Yeah." Leo nodded. "All good."

Piper leaned against the wall and grinned at Nico. "Did you know when I walked in that I was coming to tell you that Nico was back?"

"I had a suspicion." Nico admitted, emptying the ice pack into the sink and wringing out the burlap. "My death senses had been going off all morning, telling me that someone was alive who shouldn't be alive."

"That would be me." Leo laughed. "Sorry. I wasn't planning on being away for so long." Then his face turned serious. "Did you guys know right away when I died?"

Piper pushed off of the wall in order to listen better.

"It was weird." Nico rubbed the back of his neck. "It said you were alive, and then all of a sudden it shut out, and then it flickered on and off for a while until it finally died out. I assumed you had been in a coma or something, somewhere out there floating in the ocean or something, until you finally died."

"Oh." Leo's cheery smile fell. "I...um…that's…"

"Hey." Piper sat down next to her best friend, put her arms around him. "Hey." She repeated. "I know, it's awful. We thought that you had gotten blown to bits or died in some awful pain all alone. But you weren't, you didn't, and now you've come back to us. It's okay now, okay?"

Leo, small, skinny, 15 year old Leo, leaned heavily into Piper's side while she rubbed his back comfortingly. Leo looked up at Piper with wide dark brown eyes. "Okay." He finally said. "Okay. I'm back now, and I'm not ever going away again."


	8. -8-

A/N: Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for the wait.! I thought I had posted this already but apparently I didn't.

-rae

* * *

><p>-NICO-<p>

Nico sat on top of Will's desk, watching as Will inspected Leo to make sure that he really was fine. He shone a light into his face and Nico watched as Leo's eyes followed the beam of light moving back and forth. Will checked his heartbeat (as to why, Nico had no idea) before allowing him to get up off of the bed. The son of Hephaestus stood up and drew Calypso into his arms, and he stood there, his back against the wall, with Calypso leaning against his chest.

"So." He grinned. "When's the soonest we can see Jason, Hazel, Frank, Percy, and Annabeth?"

"Jason should be here anytime within the next few days." Piper said. "He told me he'd be visiting really soon."

As Piper, Leo, and Calypso continued their conversation about how the others were doing, Nico watched silently. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he relaxed when he saw that it was just Will.

"Hey Neeks." Will said, wrapping an arm around Nico's back. Nico allowed himself to lean into his boyfriend only the slightest bit. Physical contact, however nice he had learned it to be, was still something that he instinctively tried to distance himself from. "Nice to see Leo back, huh?"

Nico nodded. "I wasn't really expecting him to come back, but I can't really say that I'm all that surprised. I just kind of had a feeling that he was gonna pop back into our lives somehow."

"It must've been hard," Will mused, "for all of you. Him because he had to let you think he was dead. For you, and Piper, and the rest of your group, because you actually _thought _he was dead."

"You were there. You know how it felt." Nico couldn't tear his dark eyes from Leo.

"I wasn't all that close to him." Will pointed out. "He wasn't exactly here for that long. For most of the time I knew him he was out flying that ship with the rest of you. Even while he was here, he spent practically all of his time down in Bunker 9, _building _that ship."

"True," Nico shrugged. "It's weird, though. I'm supposed to be younger than him. Now I'm sixteen, and he's still fifteen."

"Yeah." Will agreed. "That is kind of weird." The blond boy hopped up to sit next to Nico, and Nico allowed himself to lean into his side just a little bit more. "What do you think of Calypso?"

"She's…" Nico struggled for words, "different than I imagined her to be. I was imagining some sort of seductress, with skimpy clothes and lots of makeup or something like that."

Will laughed. Nico smiled a little. He liked Will's laugh. "Well, that's not exactly a good description of her, is it?"

"No." Nico still had a small smile on his face. "It's not." He turned his attention to the immortal girl, wearing her simple, modest clothes with her long, thick hair braided loosely over her shoulder. "She's a lot more…casual than I had expected. A lot more innocent looking."

Will studied the girl too. "Well." He finally said. "I didn't have an expectation of her. I can't say I think about girls a lot."

Nico laughed, feeling Will's curls tickle the side of his face as he laughed as well. "There is something strange about her, though." Nico admitted. "How did she get off of Ogygia? She shouldn't have been able to do that."

"How did Leo even get back to Ogygia a second time, though?" Will asked. "Doesn't the curse say that no man would ever be able to go there twice?"

"Leo died." Nico pointed out. "He died, and came back to life. The curse doesn't say anything about not letting dead guys go back with a different life."

"Oh. Yeah." Will leaned back against the wall. Nico almost leaned back with him, but he instinctively stopped before his back hit the wall.

Straightening back up, Nico said, "So how did she do it, then? Leo didn't do anything to break the curse. She should still be trapped there."

"Maybe the gods let her go." Will suggested.

"Out of the kindness of their hearts?" Nico snorted. "No. If the gods let Calypso off of Ogygia, they didn't do it for brownie points. No, the only reason they would do that would be if they wanted something in return."

"In return?" Will's voice sounded confused. "Like a favor?"

"Exactly like a favor." Nico told him. "The gods put Calypso in their debt and there's no way they aren't going to require an act of forgiveness."

"You too aren't as touchy-feely as I thought you would be." Leo's voice, sounding somewhat disappointed, made Nico look up. The Latino boy was watching Nico and Will with interest. "Which sucks. I was planning on getting some good jokes out of this."

Nico shifted somewhat uncomfortably under Leo's stare. It was true, he and Will weren't exactly the most affectionate couple in the world. Nico had problems with people touching him, for reasons that even he couldn't quite pin down, and he was never too comfortable with public displays of affection, either. Will had always seemed to understand that, and although he occasionally put an arm around Nico, that was all the farther he went. There was never any hand-holding or hugging, at least not in public. Sometimes, if the two were alone at night, Will would suddenly pull the daring move of grasping Nico's hand or drawing him into his arms, and although the actions gave Nico a weird tingling feeling in his chest that was somewhere between repulsion and admiration, he could never quite make himself pull away. It was only on very special, very rare occasions that Will dared to kiss Nico. Although Nico felt rather ashamed to admit it, because he knew that kissing and cuddling and physical contact in general was something that people were supposed to cherish, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was just _wrong. _Part of it, he knew, was because he was from the 1930's and back in that time period, being gay was unheard of. He would've been scorned for his feelings, and his natural instinct was to hide it. But that wasn't the whole reason, Nico knew. Part of the reason was just...well, Nico wasn't sure exactly. He just knew that he couldn't stand someone touching him for more than a minute. He didn't like it when anyone laid more than a finger on him. The only exception to this rule was Will, and even he had limitations. But Will had always seemed to understand the unspoken agreement between them that Nico was uncomfortable with the whole PDA thing. The whole DA thing, actually.

Will seemed to understand now Nico's discomfort. "Nico's a very reserved person," he told Leo with the air of someone talking to a fussy baby, "and I respect that." He ran his fingertips down Nico's spine once before his hands returned to his lap.

Leo didn't release his hold on Calypso. "Hey man," he said defensively, "just cracking a joke. No need to get yourself all fired up." To emphasize his pun, he momentarily let go of Calypso's waist to let his hand burst into flames.

"And there's the Leo we know." Nico muttered through gritted teeth. He wasn't mad at Leo, just frustrated that everyone always seemed to bring up the fact that he and Will weren't the stereotypical, all-over-each-other, boners-24/7 gay couple that everyone seemed to expect.

"Don't let him get to you." Will soothed, and Nico finally looked up to meet his boyfriend's gaze. The medic's cerulean blue eyes were wide with concern. Nico's contained anger evaporated in a millisecond. He softened considerably.

"I'm not." He said softly. "Don't worry."

Piper chose that moment to walk over to the pair.

"Come on," she beckoned, "we're going to go find Chiron."


End file.
